


thank you.

by lakshmi



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, and hien is a good good man, hey uh, kanan's been through a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 07:56:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12076851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lakshmi/pseuds/lakshmi
Summary: there is not nearly enough hien/wol love on here and i'm here to change that. marshmallow fluff with a side of sadness





	thank you.

       ‘ I suppose you won that fair and square, Hien. ‘ 

 

        She's panting, hands on her knees yet she's grinning ear to ear besides, determined not to let him get to her just yet. He is just as breathless as she, but seemingly in much better shape. 

 

        ‘ I did, now didn't I? ‘ he offers her a hand, a rather  _ shite-eating grin  _ forming across his features when she accepts. ‘ now you owe me one of those  _ elusive  _ dark secrets of yours, Kanan. ‘ 

 

        She knows what she owes, but she's hardly sure he  _ truly  _ wishes to hear it — there aren't many lighthearted ones to choose from, she's regretfully reminded. Kanan detaches herself from his grip  **_(_ ** she feels far too vulnerable in it  **_)_ ** and rests both hands on her hips, thinking. 

 

     ‘ right, right. As if I could forget. Might we do this over a drink? ‘ 

 

_ Of course,  _ is his response, but hesitance is laced behind it — he's aware of her unpredictability in diplomatic affairs, though he knows how lacking he is in any such knowledge of  _ her _ , despite his innate desires to possess it. Once they are settled back at camp, he's all too pleased to offer her his undivided attention — given she isn't apprehensive to it. He offers her a drink and she relishes in the warmth that settles in her chest when she downs it; she’s a tad nervous, were she to be truthful. 

 

      Moments pass -- it could’ve been mere minutes or hours with how slowly it ticks away. When her gaze moves up once more, she’s quick to realise that he’s been watching her the entire time. It isn’t cold nor calculating; it’s quite soft, nearly pitying in the way he regards her. 

 

      ‘ so?  ‘  he finally breaks the warm silence, one corner of his mouth playing upwards into an attempt to hide a smile  **_(_ ** it’s far from successful, and she loves him for it  **_)_ ** . ‘  what’s your story, kanan?  ‘

 

      she pauses. she knows this has been a long time coming, but that doesn’t stop her heart from racing. ‘  well… what is it you want to know?  ‘ 

 

     he knows she’s avoiding whatever it is at all costs, so he treads lightly. ‘ mayhap… the town from whence you’ve come? i am come to understand you’ve traveled quite a bit. ‘ 

 

     kanan nods. ‘  that is truth. i was born in the lochs -- ala mhigo, the city proper. ‘ she leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees as her gaze travels to the fire. ‘ i lived there until -- well, you know. lived in kugane for a time. was shipped out to ul’dah as a refugee with barely a coin to my name. ‘  _ it’s odd _ , she thinks,  _ that even i was a beggar once _ .

 

    ‘ and now you are the savior of the world, kanan. ‘ the words cause her to spare him a glance -- she hadn’t expected him to align so well with her thoughts. ‘ truly, you are an enigma. ‘ 

     ‘  … but, on occasions far more often than usual, i’ve found myself wondering whether or not i’ll survive all of this.  ‘ 

 

    ‘ why wouldn’t you? you have beaten every beast that has crossed your path, what more is zenos? ‘ 

 

    she shakes her head, then lets it hang. it’s not an easy question, and not one she’s willing to part with the answer to so soon. ‘  you shall have to win another fight for that answer, hien.  ‘ 

 

    ‘ come now, old girl, ‘ he breathes the words -- they’re hardly more than a whisper. ‘ surely you know you are far more than whatever lopsided sense of justice he equates you to. you are the warrior of light, for heaven’s sake -- ‘ 

 

   ‘ he isn’t the problem, hien. ‘ she looks up at him, gaze betraying something akin to wistfulness. ‘ he is merely another primal I haven’t learnt to defeat just yet. ‘

  he moves to sit by her side, and kanan watches him all the while. hien remains a unique presence beside her; she is not yet able to read him as she can others. his hand brushes her back and she shivers. 

 

  ‘ ah -- my apologies, kanan. ‘ he quickly retracts his hand, and she hopes he does not take serious offense. 

 

   ‘ nay, ‘twas not your doing. ‘  _ it was an instinct _ , she thinks.

 

  ‘ then why…? ‘  _ hien, don’t _ \-- 

 

   she halts, breathing slows as she attempts to do anything other than  _ think _ . ‘ there was… an incident. a long while ago. decades ago, even. it still -- haunts me. follows where’er I go. affects who i am and will be. ‘ 

 

   ‘ somehow, i do not think that the whole truth. ‘ he smiles, a bitter thing, but she can tell he understands.

 

   ‘ but you shan’t press, and i shan’t deliver. i have tired of talk, hien. i -- ‘

 

   ‘ what need i accomplish to win your trust? ‘ he places his hand over hers with more conviction, but without force; she startles, but does not pull away. 

 

   she won’t play coy nor hard to get, she’s well aware what he wants. it is not a dirty desire, but one of significant care and trust. ‘ might i be candid, hien? ‘ 

 

   ‘ you need not my permission for that, kanan. ‘ he laughs. 

   ‘ stay with me. because i will not always be here, and i will need someone to pull me back when the tide is too strong. ‘ the echo had been stronger as of late, and she had begun to see visions of the future rather than the past -- a sign  _ something  _ was coming to an end. nary a thing was ever clear with hydaelyn’s mysterious power gifted to her children, that much was for certain. 

 

   ‘ something so simple? of course. ‘ he raises her hand so he might brush his lips against her knuckles, returning the knot to her lap at his own pace. ‘ but to whence are you travelling, dear? where are you going that draws you in with such ease? ‘ 

 

   she remains silent for a time, seeking to only allow her gaze to rest in the fire.  _ it is just like her heart _ , he thinks,  _ where her star shines so bright it consumes itself _ . 

 

   ‘ mayhap we should continue this conversation another time, kanan. ‘ and he is right, she knows, but still she does not stir. it is only when his hand moves to her back that she wakes, and realises the wetness she’d felt on her cheeks was not of the sky, but of her own making. the miqo’te rushes to clear her face, breathing deep to expel the tremors she feels so strongly within every fiber of her being. 

 

   before she fully realises his position, she is tucked safely in his arms and she continues to keen for what she has lost -- and yet, what she has yet to gain. she thinks it not hydaelyn who has sent this gift to her, but rhalgr himself; and she would thank him with everything she is and yet to be in return for this honest, pure man who envelops her entire being. 

  
_ thank you, thank you, thank you.  _


End file.
